I Love You? | by Venerable Jingben
[520: I Love You?]
⧉ by Venerable Jingben
Novice monk:
“Master, how should we express affection on 5-20(Network Valentine's Day*)? Should I say ‘I love you’?”
Old monk (palms joined):
“Namo Amitābha. Love is compassion.”
Novice monk (thinking aloud):
“Then should I just say, ‘I compassion you’?”
The old monk bursts into hearty laughter.
Although “love” and “compassion” resemble each other, their essence differs. Saying “I love you” sounds ordinary, yet saying “I compassion you” feels oddly out of place.
In Buddhism, love mostly directed toward individuals; it is often tinged with personal attachment and easily breeds affliction. However, compassion reaches all beings, boundless in scope, and brings hope.
Infinite Life Sūtra: “Love, Desires for wealth and honor cannot be preserved forever; all must part, and none are truly delightful.”
Contemplation Sūtra: “The Buddha-mind is great compassion; with impartial kindness he gathers in all beings.”
Love is finite,
but compassion is inexhaustible.
Amitābha Buddha, through the ten kalpas, extends his hand and waits for us.
He wishes only that beings recite “Namo Amitābha”
and set foot on the homeward path to the Land of Ultimate Bliss.
This is perfect love—Great Compassion.
Namo Amitābha Buddha
⧉ Pure Land Buddhism ⧉
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｜Namo Amitabha Buddha｜
